Zelenskyy names Türkiye, Austria, Switzerland for talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday named Türkiye, Austria, and Switzerland as possible venues for a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We believe it is fair, and the Europeans emphasized this, that the meeting should be held in neutral Europe. Because there is a war in Ukraine and on the European continent. I said that we agree. Switzerland, Austria-we agree," Zelenskyy said during a conversation with journalists on Wednesday, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

Zelenskyy also spoke about Türkiye as a potential venue for the talks, stating that it is a NATO country and "part of Europe."

He went on to say that a meeting "without any special conditions is also proactive actions by the Ukrainian side," also rejecting Moscow as a possible venue and describing the prospect of Budapest as "not easy today" due to Hungary's position on the war.